if you build it, they will skate

nowhere is a generation gap more evident than between skateboarders and “older generations.”

well, the sk8er boys (and girls, although i haven’t seen any) in our ‘hood now have a new place to hang out.

the city permitted a skate board park to be built just on the outskirts of waterloo park and across from our local rec centre.

earlier this week, i took a walk over to check out this new spot for myself. it was pretty quiet while i was there…which is a good thing, considering it was about noon on a school day!

so new, the landscaping isn't complete - not that the skateboarders care, i bet!

i'd love to know all the jumps and tricks you could do, given this "terrain!"

there's an action shot!

bet they can catch some air with THIS ramp!

i totally approve of this skate boarding park. it’s a great idea. the location is optimal – in central waterloo, close to amenities, but not near homes or busy streets. when i drove by one evening, the place was hopping! i bet about 30 *kids* were hanging out and making great use of the park. my hope is that the park is respected by its users, and kept in the clean condition that it is in currently.

this summer (prior to the skate board park opening), the square in uptown waterloo was the make-shift skateboarding area:

the W-I-D-E open cement space...

this is also where i did yoga outdoors and where the (teeny) farmer’s market was held, this summer. oh – and buskers performed here, too! truly a multi-use space…but it was not intended for skateboarding!

actually, the city DID try offering the skateboarders specific times when they could use this outdoor area…but that idea did not go over so well. the skateboarders tred on the toes (sometimes literally) of people sitting, walking, passing by the square, and did not stick to the set hours offered by the city (i witnessed this, firsthand).

i can see why it was a tempting spot to do jumps, twists and tricks:

steps and stairs!

benches and obstacles!

a ramp!

so, i’m glad there’s a specific, designated spot for skateboarding. the activity may be viewed by some as a bit “counter-culture,” but a sport that gets kids away from computers, invites socializing, and encourages them to be out-of-doors has good potential to it. i admit i do squirm a bit when i watch the antics! all i picture is the potential danger! me = old!

and now, because i know this song is rolling around in YOUR brain, too…here’s the link! sk8er boi by avril lavigne. awesome tune!

what’s your history with skate boarding? i have never set foot on one – really! and no, i am not about to take myself over to the new skate park in order give myself a new experience – i have a feeling “ride a skate board” could too quickly turn into “have a cast on my leg!!!”

Comments

Funny you should write about that today. I just ran by there last night to check it out and it was jam-packed. I thought that I would go back in a few days with my camera and take some photos and blog about it! You beat me to it again! We are on the same wave-length. You might still see a post from me about it.

I think it is a fantastic idea and I am glad that the youth in Waterloo have somewhere “proper” to go to practice their sport.

I had a cheap, plastic skateboard when I was a kid but my BF and I would tie it on the back of a bike and tow each other around. I never really tried to skate on it.

happy weekend to you, too, tricia! bet your children are excited about hallowe’en!! i’d love to see you blog about the skateboard park, too! we DO seem to pick the same local themes to talk about, don’t we! neat that you approve, also. that is too funny about the bike + skateboard combo. another of those ideas that seemed normal at the time, and now we’d say DANGEROUS!!!

I’m a huge fan of skateparks, but only if they’re in well-lit public spaces. I lived in a town that had a skatepark in the middle of a business/industrial area that was dead at night. Kids mostly went there to drink, break bottles and make out. It wasn’t fair to the real skaters, athletes who really wanted to improve their skills. When I lived in a different city, there was a really nice skatepark downtown. It was very well-used and I loved watching the kids do amazing tricks!

thanks for sharing the two different examples! i so hope that ours is well-used but also respected. i think the location is great because it’s wide-open, a road runs right past, and it’s well-lit. some of the tricks these kids can do are really WOW!

Well…I’ve seen a skateboard…and I’m pretty sure I’ve maybe sat on one. But I wouldn’t attempt to use one. Nope, not for me!
How great that the skateboarders have a productive place to have fun and (what great exercise!)

haha, yes, do you think it’s possible to take a skateboarding class or lessons? i bet it is QUITE the rush when you know how to do jumps and turns in the air! i saw that your blog was back yesterday – hooray! glad it was not too serious an issue to resolve!

I’ve never been on a skateboard and like you have no intention of ever getting on one. Rachel’s dad on the other hand loved the things. He would have loved a set up like the one you photographed. Back in the day it was the streets and public areas only and the young folks on skateboards and BMX bikes took over.

they really did a quality job on the skateboard park – to my untrained eye, anyway. and yes, it’s a relatively new phenomenon, eh – i just remember seeing kids going down the middle of the streets, in our ‘hood!

I’ve never really skateboarded, probably have been on one for ten seconds at most! I do remember my brother skateboarding on our driveway.
I focus on the danger too, especially since many skateboarders I see don’t use helmets.